Families to be given say in future of neighbourhood

Village: Families in Broughton could be given a say in neighbourhood development

Published:08:00Wednesday 09 March 2016

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Families in rural Preston could be given a say in the development of their village.

Leaders at Broughton Parish Council have submitted an application for the designation of the area, in the first formal stage of creating a neighbourhood development plan.

If the request is rubber stamped by bosses at Preston Council on Wednesday, the community will be able to work towards setting policies for the use of land in Broughton.

Parish Council chairman Pat Hastings said grants had been secured, and the consultation phase of the plan was hoped to begin next month.

She said: “We are trying to get the opinion of the community, not just the parish council. It will be the village’s view point.

“The point about neighbourhood plans is we can have a really good say in the future of the village.

“The reason we have suggested we do that at this point is the bypass. We will be looking at how we can plan the new developments into the village a bit more. “It’s looking to the future, but with these development plans we can also have quite a lot of say and control.

“If it’s adopted by referendum, we can make sure the areas of separation stay in place.

“It’s about everybody living here getting the village back.”

Coun John Swindells, Preston Council’s cabinet member for planning and regulation, said Broughton would be the second area in Preston to have a neighbourhood plan, after Fishwick and St Matthew’s.

He said: “They allow neighbourhoods to shape their own areas and prioritise what they would like to see.

“But it’s not a veto for anything. They can’t say we don’t want any housing to be built, because everything has to operate within national planning guidance. It’s part of the localism agenda, passing local decisions to local people.”

Cabinet members are recommended to designate the area as the Broughton in Amounderness Parish neighbourhood area at Wednesday’s meeting.

Coun Swindells added: “It kick starts the process of a neighbourhood plan, and our team will work with them to help them draw the plan up.

“Once the draft comes to council it would have to go to a referendum.”

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